n  Superb reading!n


n  A POOL OF READINGn

n  ’Cause you never can tell.n

n  What goes on down below.n

n  This pool might be bigger.n

n  Than you or I know!n

A wonderful tale, the only one that Dr. Seuss colored using watercolor technique (used by Dr. Seuss only here and in another tale, Happy Birthday to You!), that since it’s about the possibilities of catching all kind of wacko fishes in a little pond...

...I think it was just perfect.

In my humble opinion, of this kind of “Dream Bigger” trilogy (my point of view, not that they’d ever enlisted as such by anybody else): And to Think that I saw i ton Mulberry Street, McElligot’s Pool (this one), and If I ran the Zoo,...

...I believe that it’s this very tale which better exemplifies the concept, presenting the right choice of coloring style, a mindblowing and funny shoal of wacko fishes, and a charming ending with endless possibilities.

Also, it’s relevant to mention that thanks to this very tale, the world has too The Berenstain Bears since its creators, Stan and Jan Berenstain got the idea of creating their own series of children’s tales when their kid asked them to buy him this book, that at that moment, they didn’t have a clue who was Dr. Seuss… and years later HE edited it their first book.

Loved it, and it cracked the kids up! Madeline chose it from the school library, and we really enjoyed it - I'd not read it before.

Fabulous spin on fishing.

Wow, I can’t believe I’ve come back to this one after so, so, so many years.

Marco is at it again, though this time daydreaming about a menagerie of fish that could be caught at McElligot’s Pool. Beautifully illustrated, with full-color art on every other page.

The narrator highlights the importance of patience—a skill I’ve worked hard to learn and maintain.

The second book in the Marco series by Dr. Seuss—the first being his very first children’s book—is just as dreamy as it’s predecessor, and full of exciting fun!

Love Dr. Seuss imagination. The colors and the art were as amazing as they have always been!

This was one of the most influential books of my life. I read it in the first grade; possibly on my very first visit to the school's library. It was a very small library but it seemed like a wonderland to me.

This was the first book to explode my mind about the big wide world beyond my backyard and how things are interconnected. From the little pond to the stream to the river to the ocean. To this day I believe that if all children had read this, they would understand how things are related, and there might be greater understanding of the big picture outside ourselves, and greater empathy for others.

So long ago I read this and the images from the book remain vivid in my memory. Seuss's flights of fancy are keys that open up young minds. This is an all-time favorite.

(KevinR@Ky, amended 2016)

It's fun reading some of these oldies. McElligot's Pool is even older than my parents! It's one of the first Dr. Seuss books I've seen that uses full-colour illustrations along with black-and-white ones.

This book is first and foremost a celebration of imagination. When Marco is told that he won't catch any fish in McElligot's Pool, he spins a wild tale about how the pool might be connected to a river or even the ocean, and from there he muses about all the various fish he might catch: everything from fish with checkerboard bellies to two-headed eels.

While it was interesting to see what Marco would come up with next, I found the book just a little too long for my taste. It's also slightly dated with the stereotypical depiction of Inuit, going so far as to use the term "Eskimo". But it was 1947, and it's unfair to judge books from the past against our current standards. (Look at it as a mini history lesson instead.)

This isn't my favourite Dr. Seuss title. It's okay, but the length is a little tiresome. (Picture books from this era seem to be about twice the length of our current standard of around 32 pages. Parents: you've been warned.)

(3.5)

I read this many years ago when I was probably in grade school and always thought it was one of Dr. Seuss’ best. I heard on the news today that this is one of his books that will no longer be published because of some racist overtones.

So I went to YouTube and listened to a reading of the story along with the pictures. I still think it’s a cute story about a little boy who thinks he can catch fish in a shallow pool. But the pool may be connected to an underground stream going to the ocean. And some of the fish might be “Eskimo” fish that are shown drawn with fur collars and coming from an igloo. This is really the only stereotype I saw in the book but is that worth banning it? Am I missing something??

This book surprised me. As I do with all kids books that I read to my library class, I’ve rated this one according to their thoughts. A kindergartener picked it out for us to read and my immoral thought was, “Oh, god, no. I’m going to loose their attention two pages in.” Surprisingly, I didn’t. They DEVOURED this book. It even sparked conversations among them about safe fishing practices and which fish you’re more likely to catch in a river here in Nebraska.

They really enjoyed this book and I did too. It’s full of whimsical sea creatures, imagination, and is all about how what one person might call foolish another person might consider smart.

**** Caldecott Honor (1948) ****

Beautiful colored pencil drawing show the early creative genius in the early years. His style is unique and evident.

Creativity at its best! As one of Dr. Seuss early masterpieces, this book tells a tale of many kinds of fish in McElligot's pool. I can imagine this being a good story for writer's workshop to create the strangest and most colorful fish in the pool or as a story to read before visiting the aquarium. Encourages creative minds that think outside the box.